http://www.mlive.com/news/bay-city/index.ssf/2012/10/bay_county_lottery_winner_head.htmlBay County lottery winner heading to prison on firearm chargesCole Waterman | cwaterma@mlive.com By Cole Waterman | cwaterma@mlive.com
on October 22, 2012 at 11:25 AM, updated October 22, 2012 at 11:26 AM
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Leroy-Fick-e1305825661393.jpg Leroy Fick
BAY CITY, MI — In learning he’s to spend at least the next year in prison, a Williams Township man who won close to $2 million in the lottery two years ago lamented the state of his life and the fortunes he squandered.
“I had so many pressures coming on me from all directions, I snapped, I guess,” said 60-year-old Leroy N. Fick, appearing before Bay County Circuit Judge Joseph K. Sheeran on Monday morning. Fick added that though he quit drinking alcohol a decade ago, he suffers from blackouts and mental problems.
Sheeran sentenced Fick to 13 to 60 months in prison, with credit for two days served. The judge also ordered Fick to pay $1,100 in fines, costs and restitution.
Fick in August pleaded no contest to larceny of a firearm and felon in possession of a firearm. Both charges are five-year felonies.
Though nearly destitute now, Fick in June 2010 won close to $2 million in Michigan’s “Make Me Rich!” lottery. He took a lump, post-tax sum of $998,570 and was later featured alongside his son, Jeffery Fick, on the TLC program, “Lottery Changed My Life.”
Click here to watch video of the Ficks' appearance on the show.
With his winnings, Fick demolished his home and built a new one on the same site, purchased a brand new Chevrolet Camaro and spent a significant amount on fireworks. All he has now is an annuity, though the amount he receives isn’t enough to pay the land tax on his house, he told Sheeran.
Hangers-on quickly picked him clean of his cash, Fick said.
“The whole thing just blew up in my face,” he said. “I thought people would love me if I helped them out some. I had the wrong idea, I guess. They all turned on me and that was it.”
Sheeran told Fick he has two felony convictions and 26 misdemeanor convictions dating back to 1969, and that his life didn’t start to unravel when he won the lottery.
Fick was on probation in Midland County on a charge of possession of cocaine when he was arraigned in Bay County in June on the firearm charges, Sheeran said. The firearm counts stem from Fick stealing heirloom rifles and shotguns from his mother, which he then pawned for money he needed to keep his electricity on.
Fick’s troubles began shortly after winning the lottery when he admitted to continuing to use his Bridge Card. The following year, 25-year-old Lincoln Park resident Amanda Clayton won $1 million on “Make Me Rich!” and also continued using her Bridge Card. The conduct of Fick and Clayton prompted legislators to fashion a new law requiring the Michigan Lottery to provide to the Department of Human Services the name and other information of a person who wins $1,000 or more. DHS must then apply an asset test to determine the winner’s eligibility for food aid.
Authorities charged Clayton with welfare fraud, a count to which she later pleaded no contest. Clayton was sentenced to six months of probation in July, but was found dead of an apparent drug overdose in September.
Fick in January appeared in Isabella County Circuit Court and pleaded guilty to a felony charge of illegal possession of a prescription painkiller, for which he served 45 days in jail. Upon his release, he appeared in Bay County District Court and pleaded guilty to three counts of illegal possession of fireworks, three counts of operating a motor vehicle on a restricted license and single counts of operating a motor vehicle on a restricted license, second offense, allowing an unlicensed person to drive and driving 97 mph in a 55 mph zone.
Fortunately for Fick, when he pleaded no contest to the two charges which he is heading to prison for, prosecutors dismissed two counts of felony firearm. That charge requires a mandatory two-year prison stay, which is to be served before any other sentence.
